All posts for the month October, 2024

Revelation 19:11-21 – Sermon Manuscript

-After months walking through the unfolding of human history, we’re finally at the end of time. We’ve seen the rise and fall of civilizations, the promise that God will someday bring about perfect revenge, and it all centers on the King enacting His final rule.

-I’ve been waiting for this week for months, because I really get to push into my LOTR fandom here! And thanks to Bradley, I also have a sign to help you remember the theme of this passage and this book.

-in LOTR Aragorn was the rightful king of Gondor, even though he hadn’t enacted his place. Instead, Denethor was the steward, tasked with taking care of the Gondor until the king returned, and it was a glorious day in Middle Earth when Aragorn took his rightful place as king!

-Keep that picture in mind as we work through today’s text.

READ/PRAY

-A few literary keys to understand what’s going on here, one that gives us a framework of the book, and the other that gives us a framework for this section: “Opened” and “I saw”

-“Opened” – 4:1, 11:19, 15:5, 19:11

-Window 1: 1:9-3:22: Hears a loud voice commanding Him to write down what he sees, turns and sees Jesus standing among the lampstands (churches)

-Window 2: 4:1-11:18: a door standing open in heaven, throne, someone standing on the throne with a scroll that has 7 seals, leads to 7 trumpets, and heaven sings

-Window 3: 11:19-15:4: temple of God opened, Ark of the Covenant appears leading to a number of signs, war between beasts and the seed of the woman but the beast is never successful

-Window 4: 15:5-19:10: temple of the tabernacle opened, 7 bowls of judgment with the worst penalties yet, fall of Babylon, Lamb’s Bride is ready

-Window 5: 19:11-22:7: victory of the Lamb, descent of the city of God, the New Jerusalem

-We’re in the last glimpse of history here now, after God has delayed His judgment, that delay is done and it’s time for Him to take His rightful place as King of kings and Lord of lords.

-3 scenes, each begins with “Then I saw” the king, an angel, and the beast

-Spend most of our time on the first one since that’s the most important!

The King (11-16)

-White horse. White is purity, horse is a signal of riding in to make war, but the emphasis is on the rider.

-Contrast this arrival with Jesus’ first arrival. His supposed “triumphal” entry was to go die, this true triumphal entry is to enact perfect everlasting justice. This tells us the way the world works, that we hate is that humiliation is the only way to true life. To save your life you must lose it, to be great means you must be a servant.

-Rider is called Faithful and True

-Contrast this with all the descriptions we’ve seen of the beast and his minions. His leadership always leads to destruction, and if you dig deep enough you’ll find him unfaithful and untrue.

-Think of the implications of this reality: there are no hidden skeletons in Jesus’ closet, He’ll never lead you the wrong way, He’s always available for you, He’ll never leave you or forsake you, He literally died for you. Friends, Jesus is completely worthy of your complete worship and adoration. Because He is faithful and true, it is worth losing everything to get Him (including your life), which this book reminds us may be the case. Satan will work to destroy every follower of Jesus with any means he has, whether it be through economic oppression, political oppression, religious oppression, or even martyrdom, he LOVES when death comes, which is the opposite of Jesus.

-Jesus only judges with justice, when he pursues war it is in the pursuit of true justice. Podcast on parole boards in IL, asked the question “how do you determine when justice has been served.” We can’t! How do we weigh time served in prison vs. someone being murdered? Jesus can! His judgment is completely just, which is evidenced in the next verse:

-Eyes: penetrating, understanding everything, nothing can be hidden from their sight. This is why his judgment is completely just: He understands everything from everyone, even down to your deepest desires. Can’t lie to Him, can’t trick Him, can’t deceive Him in anyway, He sees it all, which would be terrifying if He weren’t faithful and true!

-Many crowns, but not numbered.

-Another contrast with the beast: remember 7 heads & 10 crowns, trying to be impressive but shown to be useless. Once again, the beast power is limited, but Jesus’ is limitless!

-I thought of a funny example of this that I read about hamburgers. Back in the 80s, A&W tried competing with McDonald’s quarter pounder by created 1/3 lb burger. Spent all this time and money researching and developing it but it never took off, and they couldn’t figure out why so they created a focus group. In their tests, people liked the taste of their burger better, it was cheaper than Mickey Ds, but it turns out Americans are really bad at math so they thought they were getting ripped off because 3 is less than 4.

-Similar to the way people thought they were deceived by the numbers, Satan here looks like he has all the power, but his 10 are nothing compared to the MANY crowns on Jesus. Don’t get tricked by Satan’s many deceptions

-Name: seems like a weird description “a name that no one knows” when we’ve seen 2 names so far, we’ve got another one coming up in the next verse, and then it seems to list 2 MORE names in 16

-Need to understand 2 cultural ideas here to understand what John’s saying. First is when talking about a deity, to know their name gives you some sway or influence over them, which is why the Romans had so many named gods to try to force the gods to obey them. You can see this when you’re out in a public place and someone yells your name, don’t you immediately stop and look around? (Side note, unfortunately ‘Mike’ and ‘like’ sound very similar in public settings)

-Second is names were seen as representing characteristics about someone, so to know someone’s name was to know who they are. We’ve already seen 5 names of Him, but that’s just the start because there aren’t enough names in the world to adequately describe Jesus, this is why we’ve got eternity to try.

-So what’s signified by this is no one can influence Jesus in any way, and no one can know Him fully. We can know Him truly as He really is, but not completely.

-Robe: whose blood? Either the defeated armies or His own.

-Some irony to this being referred to as the last battle, not just because no battle takes place, but because Jesus won when He rose again! I don’t know that it matters whose blood is on this robe, because the point is the same either way: Jesus is returning completely victorious. The battle is won.

-Jesus isn’t alone, armies are coming with Him! White: purity, linen: priestly clothes

-This gets to the question what are you wearing? Paul gets at this idea in Eph. 4, where he compares growing in holiness (like Jesus) to taking off clothes and putting on new ones. Like we’re at the stage of life where we go through a TON of clothes! And that even includes leaving kids in dirty clothes far longer than we should. But what does that look like spiritually?

-Paul answers that questions in Col. 3 when he lists the clothes that Christians should wear. What clothes are you wearing? Are you clothed in all these attributes or do you need to work to take off the worldly self?

-Sharp sword comes from where? His mouth: Jesus’ power is in His words.

-Think of the night of His betrayal when Judas brought a group to arrest Jesus, Peter strikes out and cuts off someone’s ear, and Jesus says that He doesn’t rule with the sword, Jesus rules with words.

-We don’t often see or admit this reality that words have power. ‘Sticks and stone may break my bones’ We know this! Yet how much more damaging can words be than a broken bone that heals in weeks?

-And think of what Jesus does with words: He casts out demons multiple times. When He and His disciples are stuck in a storm in the middle of a lake how does calm it? He speaks. How does He raise Lazarus from the dead? He speaks. How do we know that He’s God? Because He told us Himself, He used words. But think back even further than that, how does God create the world? He speaks.

-Friends, the reality is that in this world, words have incredible power. How are we saved? By using words: confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord with our mouths, and believing in our hearts (deepest part of ourselves) that God raised Him from the dead. Words bring the dead to life (spiritually), and God’s Word is always effective, that’s why preaching God’s Word is such a significant part of our Lord’s Day gathering! The best modern example of this is in a wedding ceremony: how is this new family created? By words “I now pronounce you man and wife,” from that point on they’re no longer 2 single people, there’s power in words.

-And at the end of history, when Jesus returns, words are the only thing that will matter. Words are how He rules the nations.

-Most English translations translate the next sentence here as “rule with an iron rod” but I think it makes more sense to translate as “shepherd with an iron rod.” His rod can’t break but that’s a blessing because He’s a good shepherd who cares for His sheep.

-Tramples the winepress (talked about that in Rev. 14)

-Name written on his robe & thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

-Everyone else, no matter how high they are in the political or global stage, isn’t the true ruler of the world. At this time, Nero would have thought he was, previously in history you could point to Alexander the Great, Atilla the Hun, even Mohammad, or Napoleon, King George, none of them are the king above all kings!

An Angel (17-18)

-I hope you’ve been picking up on the ways John is drawing out comparisons between the city of man (Babylon) and the city of God (New Jerusalem) as we’ve continued through this book. Last week Micah taught us about the bride of Christ who was invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. This time there’s another invitation to supper, but it’s a very different supper, this one is called the great supper of God, and the outworking is gross.

-Begins with an angel “standing in the sun”

-Too bright to look at, high above the earth.

-Picking up a prophecy from Ezek. 38-39 about the destruction of Israel’s enemies, which was pointing to this story at the end of history. Remember it’s important to know our WHOLE Bible to interpret Revelation properly – John regularly picks up OT themes or ideas and reinterprets them for his new audience, demonstrates this is God’s story and plan from beginning to end. It means we can trust Him.

-One thing that’s unlike Ezekiel is here no one is left out: free and slave, small and great, a way of referring to everyone

The Beast (19-21)

-Remember that the beast is always trying to mimic the Lord – unholy trinity, signs and wonders, marks on his people, here we see him bringing an army just like Jesus has

-Jesus’ army is impressive: white horses, pure clothing, this one is a beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, but nothing listed about their purity, nothing listed about their ability to conquer

-All this build up, increasing intensity in the book leading to this final showdown, in 1 corner you have Jesus and all the saints who have been saved and redeemed, in the other you have the beast and all the people he’s deceived through the course of history ready for one last attempt to finally commit the ultimate rebellion and cast God out of heaven. Unfortunately, no matter the size of the army it’s not a fair fight, because the true victory was won 2,000 years ago when Jesus walked out of the grave. That was the moment the beast, that ancient serpent, lost the fight.

-And look what happens to them: the beast and the false prophet were taken prisoner by Jesus and thrown into the lake of fire. They’re ready to knock down, and when the time comes there’s not even a fight. Talk about anticlimactic!

-The rest of the army also doesn’t get to participate, by the word of Jesus’ mouth they’re killed.

-At the end of time, we’re once again faced with the question: whose side are you on? Which army are you fighting in? We don’t get to opt out of this one, we don’t have someone fighting in our place, but we do have a choice.

-“I may never march in the infantry, ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery, I may never fly o’er the enemy, but I’m in the Lord’s army”

-But friends, here’s the thing, our fight isn’t against flesh and blood, we fight spiritually, with the Sword of the Spirit (God’s Word), but putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6)

-Have you ever paid attention to the characteristics of someone covered in the armor of God? Growing up in church we’d always focus on the items instead of the characteristic:

-Belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, gospel of piece, shield of faith, helmet of salvation “pray at all times in the Spirit”

-The way God commands us to fight and live through is words, words are the means by which God’s message goes forth, God’s Words continue having power today, God’s Word is the way dead people are brought back to life, and we now have to speak the words of eternal life to others.

-Truth-tellers. Don’t play the worldly game of deception, of assuming the worst, of looking for a fight.

-Had a conversation with a retired pastor who said people would often complain that his sermons didn’t have enough application, they wanted him to tell them what to do. Friends, the message I want you to hear every week isn’t what you need to do, it’s what Jesus has already done.

-Words have power to transform, each week it isn’t about finding something new to add to your life, it’s being reminded that there’s nothing we can add to our salvation to make Jesus love us any more. He already loves us unconditionally!

-The king is already sitting on his throne, the battle is won, but the world doesn’t realize it. Someday everyone will bow the knee to Jesus, either willingly or by force – and our job is to use words to invite others to join the right army, our job is to faithful stewards, the key word there is faithful. The kingdom is advancing, the battle is being fought, but one side refuses to admit defeat. If you want to be on the winning side it’s easy: use words to confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Lord, and if you have done that daily continue putting on the godly characteristics we’ve seen today.

Revelation 18 – Sermon Manuscript

-I love Table Topics. If you haven’t heard of them, it’s fun questions that prompt conversation, here’s some examples. One of my personal favorites is if you could change 1 event from history, what would it be? You can ask me later if you want to get into a discussion on church history. But a table topic question today’s sermon is: When are you most happy? Raise at work, A’s at school, recognition for your accomplishments, your birthday, new car, new house, new iPhone

-The flip side to that question is: what do you grieve? I think you can learn a lot about a person by knowing what makes them happy (celebrate) or what they grieve. Usually they’re connected, you would grieve the loss of what makes you happy.

-In this week’s text, we’re going to look at worldly grief.

READ/PRAY

Announcing the End (1-8)

-“Another angel”

-Shifting focus a little bit from last week, not one with the bowls, but remember this is still a zoomed in focus of the 7^th bowl – the destruction of Babylon the great. Cities look like they have all the privilege and prestige, but Revelation reminds us that things are not as they appear.

-“He called out”

-A warning, judgment comes but not without a warning beforehand.

-Don’t miss this warning! God has given a warning before the judgment comes.

–2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” Friends, God’s eternal patience is true, but it also depends on repentance. God should not be messed with or assumed about His grace and mercy, but we often do assume it, but someday your choice will determine your eternity. God’s heart and desire is for everyone to spend eternity with Him, but unfortunately that won’t be true of everyone. Some people will perish – spending eternity experiencing God’s wrath. This is why a message like Revelation is so needed! Think of what we just saw roll through FL, and thank the Lord that we have the technology we do so people can prepare, they knew the hurricane was coming. Similarly, we know judgment is coming, the question is are we prepared?

-Babylon the Great – the place of decadence and extravagance, the place where everyone gets what they want when they want it.

-Remember, described as a woman in this section. Suddenly she’s not so great.

-A haunt (GRK prison) for demons, spirits, animals. Anything that is dirty and broken resides there.

-This is a reminder for us that things are not always as they seem, and the physical doesn’t always match the spiritual. Think back to the descriptions of the 7 churches earlier in the book, the ones that are most vibrant and healthy are the ones facing the most physical persecution, and the ones that look the most appealing are the ones who are the least healthy spiritually. That’s true throughout history. I think of the excesses of Rome, the beautiful architecture, ornate buildings that I paid a few dollars to walk through. They hid a culture of despair and decay by beautiful art and architecture, but underneath it’s a prison for everything that is broken in the world.

-(3) Everyone, all nations have drunk of her idolatry

-Description here is of excess, no lack. Wealth that comes about with no concern about how you get it. We’ll talk about that a little later, but what comes to your mind when you think of pursuit of wealth in an unholy way? Is there a way that the pursuit of wealth can be unhealthy or unholy?

-The other key to remember is this sexual immorality language is referring to idolatry. It’s looking for ultimate satisfaction in something other than God, which is the drift of the human heart. All humans are looking for some way to get their deepest longings met. Think of what the Rolling Stones said “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” that’s the cry of every human apart from God.

-Another voice (angel or God?) Seems to be God for 2 reasons: “my people” John otherwise has no problem referring to angels. However, vs. 5 refers to God in the 3^rd person, so that could be wrong!

-“Come out of her” What does that look like? Are we supposed to flee to the hills? Become Amish or monastics? Is it sin to live in a city? I’ve even read some books over the past few years that argue that it’s time for Christians to flee civilization, to head for the hills and create a holy enclave that won’t be influenced by the world. If you’ve been in our church history class you know that pull is centuries old! Monks have argued for this!

–John 17. Jesus wants us to remain in the world, He prays that we would remain faithful in the world. In but not of. Key distinction. Notice that Jesus says that we are sent by Him into the world. I don’t want you so busy with church activities that you’re never able to engage your neighbors, co-workers. There was a time when I was growing up where church was the social calendar for everyone, that time is gone, and we have a mission to pursue. One church I worked at the Sr Pastor would work to add stuff to the weekly bulletin (explain bulletins) so it looked like the church was busier than it actually was.

-And I can empathize with this impulse! It’s good to spend time with our church body, it’s healthy for us to enjoy each other, I’d even say it’s essential for you to remain engaged and involved here for your sanctification. But it’s also essential for you to engage in the rest of your lives with the good news of the gospel. At work, while shopping, while driving, while walking, while talking. God wants to use you to accomplish His mission of making disciples of all nations. He’s inviting you as a part of His plans. Are you joining with Him or working against Him?

-Since seminary one of my favorite passages to meditate on has been Deut. 6, something Jews have recited daily for millennia. “Hear Israel, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God, talk about Him ALL THE TIME.” Friends, what should come up when you’re having conversation is God and His Word.

-I have some things that trigger me, one of them is when someone feels like they have to add a devotional to a gathering to make it more “holy.” My hope is that you can’t help but talk about God’s Word, what He’s done in your life, what you’re learning and being challenged in. The reality is you should have at least 1 steady input of God’s Word every week: right now! At minimum you’ve got Revelation 18 to chew on and meditate through for the next week, which should lead to new thoughts and ideas from this text that you can share with others! So do it!

-Condemnation of Babylon continues in vs. 5

-Contrast this description with the original Babylon in Gen. 11. The reality is anytime we try to make a name for ourselves it only serves to condemn us because it’s trying to force our way into the place of God.

-Sinful pursuits, the impulses they have are what will come back around to hurt her. God always remembers and will eventually bring about perfect justice and judgment. No one will doubt that He’s right in His judgments, except Babylon.

-Look how she describes herself in vs. 7. This sounds similar to what is described in Psalm 14 as a fool. Fools say there is no god, fools say that no one will hold them accountable, fools say to just pursue pleasure and alleviate pain.

-Think about what Babylon (worldly temptation) says here “I will never see grief.” Friends, do you hear the call of our culture today? How much marketing is spent on never needing to grieve? How much time is spent on not needing to grieve? If we’re entertained 24/7 there’s no time to grieve. Why struggle with grief if I can just turn on Netflix and be numbed?

-But the reality is grief will come at some point – that’s guaranteed. Just like vs. 8 goes on to remind us. There is 1 kingdom that’s eternal, the rest will someday end by destruction.

Grieving the End (9-20)

-I asked earlier what makes you happy, but now I want you to thin about what do you grieve?

-Do you grieve when you sin? Do you grieve when people pursue Babylon instead of the New Jerusalem? Do you grieve at division in Christ’s body?

-Even as we talk about that, we need to recognize that there’s a difference between godly grief and worldly grief. Worldly grief will be modeled here, but godly grief is meant to lead us closer to Christ, closer to holiness, aligning us closer with what God has created us to be.

-Picking up on themes, ideas, and language from a few OT places of destruction: Ezek. 26-27, Jer. 50-51. I don’t have time this morning to dig into them, but you can read them on your own if you want to trace the lineage of God’s response to Babylon! There are 3 groups who grieve the destruction of Babylon.

The Kings (9-10)

-The first group mentioned are the kings. Those in leadership and positions of power. But notice that they stand “far off” they don’t want to face the penalty, but they’re grieving.

-“Woe” could be “alas” or “Oh no” a sigh of mourning

-The judgment on the city is fast! They imagined they would continue in perpetuity (as the woman said) but their demise was quick

-Parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21) Where the phrase “eat, drink, and be merry” comes from, but it’s not a positive connotation. This parable is a reminder that everything on earth will someday disappear. None of us know when we’ll die, none of us know when our end will be. If you really think about some of the things we do, we’re all crazy! Strapping ourselves to a metal box, then moving inches away from another metal box going 70 mph. One twitch and you could be gone! But that’s not the way the world often thinks, the world thinks this will go on forever.

The Merchants (11-17)

-We also have those who have become wealthy from the worldly systems. Mentions extravagant things, all the nicest items, and this is the longest of these 3 groups. But culminates in treating humans as a commodity – slaves, instead of viewing them as image bearers.

-Let’s talk about this now. Have you ever considered ways you may be propagating unjust economic systems in our day that force people into slavery? The reason we have cheap and easily accessible clothing is often due to someone in SE Asia being forced to work in grueling conditions for an unlivable wage, and some those people working are children. Our culture expects things to be fast, easy, cheap, and easily accessible. There are moments where I won’t order something on Amazon because I can’t have it in 2 days. That’s ridiculous (and tells you where my heart is). I don’t have an easy solution to this, I’m not very good at economics, but I can see the ways we’re all impacted by our finances. Remember a few years ago when COVID hit and everyone went crazy with TP? Probably better things to horde, but when things suddenly aren’t going to be as easy as we thought we often don’t know how to respond so we do things that are really dumb. (Saw people with mountains of TP in their carts, heard stories of people filling their garages with it and then they couldn’t get rid of it)

-And the problem is Christians aren’t immune to this. I read a quote this week that I think brings this point to light, but to understand it you need to think of the city limit signs you see as you drive around. When I drive home every week after church, I drive by a sign that says “Welcome to Eagan established 1860” telling my I’ve crossed the line into a new city, if you live north of here you drive by it too!

-“There’s no ‘city limit’ sign to the earthly city precisely because the earthly city is less a place and more a way of life, a constellation of loves and longing and beliefs bundled up in communal rhythms, routines, and rituals.” James K.A. Smith Isn’t that interesting? We are all marked by the rhythms, routines, and rituals that we live in. Think of the ritual of a stoplight. Stay behind the white line, watch the lights next to you for them to turn red, impatiently wait and get bored so you pull out your phone to check your texts. We all have lived in these rhythms more than we realize, so if we’re going to live in different rhythms we need regular reminders that we’re citizens first and foremost of heaven.

-Just as the kings mourned but stayed away, the merchants do the same thing. Only used what they could and as soon as it wasn’t advantageous for them anymore, they ran away.

The Sailors (18-19)

-The last group to grieve were the sailors who once again got wealthy from the influence of Babylon. Once again, they’re not mourning for good reasons, they’re mourning because they’ve lost their access to wealth. Eugene Peterson summarizes this in his book well:

-Do you see any places where people worship economic prosperity instead of God? One I’ve been thinking of recently is “starter homes.” I keep reading about starter homes becoming more and more expensive and leaving out those who need a home. I remember when I bought my first home I was told the average time someone lives in a home was something like 3 years.

-We’re at a similar point to the parable of the foolish rich man. I’m not saying it’s bad to have nice things, I am saying it’s bad, wrong, and foolish to view money as your salvation. It’s not wrong to have a nice car, steward it, take care of it, and look for opportunities to bless others with it. It’s not wrong to have a nice house. Take care of it, have others over. But don’t look to your things as your ultimate source of comfort and hope because they will always let you down.

The End (20-24)

-Unlike the world, those who live in the way of the Lamb are called to respond to Babylon’s demise differently: Rejoice! Do you rejoice when evil is destroyed or judged?

-Look what happens to Babylon, the music stops, the work stops, the lights go out, there’s no more joy or happiness found there.

-All this is in preparation for next week where we will start to look a different city.

Table Topics for this week:

-Do you talk about God’s Word everyday?

-What rhythms, routines, and rituals do you practice on a weekly basis, do those help you live more in Babylon or the New Jerusalem?

-I realize this second question is harder because the practices of heaven don’t seem all that impressive. Read an old book, pray to a God we can’t see, meet 1 morning a week with people who don’t like the same things as us. Even the practices Jesus commanded us don’t seem to have any significance: take a bath, and drink some fruit of the vine and bread. Yet these habits and practices shape and form us into new people. God is working in us as we practice these habits in the context of His body – the church.

1 Comment

by mikethestrand on October 13, 2024 • Permalink

Posted in Bible, Blog, Church, Relationships, Sermon

Tagged babylon, Bible, God, Jesus, revelation

Posted by mikethestrand on October 13, 2024

https://pastormikesmusings.com/2024/10/13/revelation-18-sermon-manuscript/

Revelation 17 – Sermon Manuscript

-What animal do you see on the screen?

-Is this a picture of an old woman or a young lady?

-Last one: vase or face?

-Fun tricks! What we’re going to see in today’s text is that Satan is great at pulling optical illusions. Paul summarizes it well in 2 Cor. 11 “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works.”

-Today’s text is a call for us to not be seduced by Satan’s schemes, to remain alert to his schemes, and to remember that the end of following him is destruction

READ/PRAY

A Woman on a Beast (1-6)

-Recapitulation: repeating the same story from a different perspective, hence the 7 seals, trumpets, bowls are recounting the same event from different perspectives

-7^th all recount lightning, thunder, earthquake, and hail. Exact same language in each section, as if they’re recounting the same event but focusing on different aspects of the end.

-Intro from Discipleship on the Edge

-As I said earlier, I think today’s text is the most explicit call to wake up and live differently because the world will continually, day after day work to seduce us with her charms.

-Friends, this is why it’s SO important to meet here every week. This gathering isn’t an optional add on for when you have free time, this is your lifeblood to remember what’s truly true, to be reminded that there are spiritual implications to everything we do. It’s so easy to question and doubt when you don’t have this, and even when you have this it’s easy to doubt!

-I wrestled through this in 2021. As I’ve shared I listen to a lot of podcasts, found one that had a lot of musicians that I like and listened to it. The problem was all of them were ex-vangelical and talking about deconstructing their faith, without any sense of rebuilding. Things at church were difficult in that season, we were adjusting to having 3 kids (laughable now) but I found myself starting to get disillusioned with the church. I’ve shared before the need to preach to yourself more than you listen to yourself, and I found myself listening a whole lot more than I was preaching! I’d think really dumb things like church doesn’t matter, God doesn’t care, His ways are harmful: guys I know better than that! What snapped me out of it was listening to one of those musicians again who shared a similar story of wrestling through dumb questions and he realized it was because he had been touring too much and not spending time with his church family. About this time a Psalm became a balm to me, Psalm 73. I share that because I want you to understand that we’ll all wrestle through seasons of doubts, and the temptation is to not tell anyone about them. Friends, bring them to the church! When you’re discouraged or doubting, bring it here!

-Graphic warning: John uses pretty strong language!

-“One of the 7 angels” reference back to last week

-Zooming in on the 7^th bowl for these next 2 chapters, how the destruction of Babylon will take place

-This is also intentionally contrasted with another woman that we’ll get to in Rev. 21, but listen to the description there: Does that sound similar to anything we read this morning?

-John is contrasting the city of God against the city of man, described as women. One destined to last forever, one destined for destruction.

-Babylon is taken from Gen. 11 the tower of Babel where the goal was for the people to build a name for themselves, which is idolatry. Throughout history you see the city of man continually trying to go their own way and refuse to submit to God’s will for them.

-The imagery picks up in vs. 3

-The woman’s sitting on a beast that we saw in Rev. 13 (signified by the 7 heads and 10 horns, remember John doesn’t follow a linear approach to this story)

-At first blush she sounds beautiful, well dressed, well put together, but it’s all a façade. In her hand is a gross cup (Fear Factor, youth group games)

-Label on her forehead, just like we saw the mark of the beast in Rev. 13, not a literal mark, but a way of identifying their MO. This woman’s primary motivation is the mother of everything deranged on earth

-What’s in her cup is the blood of the saints, she keeps oppressing and killing them, just like a drunk person can’t stop drinking, she can’t stop killing them. A way of demonstrating the city of man: opposed to God and His people.

-John is amazed. The word he uses here for “greatly astonished” was used earlier in Rev. 13:3

-Just as I shared earlier, even John isn’t immune to the allure of the woman! She’s seductive, pulling people in, and it takes an angel to wake John up.

The Beast Is… (7-14)

-Ever been zoning out and it takes someone pushing you or saying something repeatedly to get you to snap out? That’s what the angel does here.

-One of the few places in Revelation we get a description of what’s happening. Now, that explanation doesn’t fill every detail in, but it does give some clarity.

-Mystery in the NT isn’t the same way we use mystery today. Something previously concealed that’s now been revealed in God’s redemptive plan.

-The beast is trying but failing to copy Jesus’ atoning work. It was, currently isn’t, but is about to come up.

-Governments and regimes opposed to God and His work. At the time it was Rome, and it will continue coming back again and again. I really enjoy reading thrillers, got really into Tom Clancy, the threat of Communism, but then it seemed like communism died, but now we’ve got a whole new threat of totalitarian regimes in other parts of the world.

-Who’s astonished? (same word as before) those who have not been written in the book of life, aka those who are following the beast.

-Mind that has wisdom, just like Rev. 13

-Wisdom for what? To understand and live faithfully as someone who follows the Lamb instead of the beast. Again, the world is enticing, it looks beautiful but at the end of the day it only leads to death.

-7 heads are 7 mountains:

-Rome. Rome was built on 7 mountains, and now we see the woman sitting on them. And just to make it even more confusing they’re also 7 kings!

-But wait, we’re just getting started! Because 5 of the kings have fallen, the 6^th us, and the other hasn’t come yet. No one has figured out what John’s referring to here. And then to get going even more, the beast that we’ve seen is an 8^th that’s one of the 7, and pretty soon you start to think that John doesn’t even know how to count!

-Best explanation I read involves 2 previous ideas. First is the number 6 which is the number of man and falling short, which signifies that the current king continually falls short. Then the 8^th is similar to Proverbs: 7 things I hate, 8 are an abomination, just a way of bringing emphasis to that one.

-Next verse we have 10 more kings who will serve for a short time.

-Has no 1^st century parallel, so most likely referring to the complete turning away from God in preparation for His return as the world draws near to the end. It seems that what John goes on to say validates this interpretation.

-They have 1 purpose, they go to make war against the Lamb. That’s coming up, but just bear in mind each time it talks about this coming war is there’s a ton of buildup and when the final showdown happens there’s no war! Jesus shows up, speaks and wins, which is what John says here.

-The world will continue fighting against Jesus, but what they don’t realize is Jesus has already won. He’s already sitting on His throne, He’s already ruling and reigning, but He’s waiting until history has been completed to come back. He’s Lord above any other lord and King above any other competing king.

The Woman Is… (15-18)

-Even more explanation of the vision: the waters the woman sits on covers the world. No one is exempt from the influence of this woman. Anywhere you have people you’ll have the pull of the woman.

-And here’s the irony. While it initially looked like the woman was ruling over the beast by riding on them, that’s shown to be a farce because they turn around and destroy her. Her clothes will be ripped off, they’ll eat her flesh, and then burn her carcass. It’s gross! But it’s also a picture of how evil always, always, ALWAYS will turn in on itself. It’s never satisfied, it never rest, and it will continually seek to exert its’ control further and further. You can see this in literally any totalitarian government in the world!

-Think of Russia with Putin. With all the bodies left in his wake how feasible would it be for him to step down? That’s a death sentence for him! Or Kim Jong-Un in North Korea, he claims to be a god. How likely would a transfer of power be from him? How long would he live if he willingly resigned? And on and on we could go throughout history.

-Yet who’s still in control? God. Everyone is still culpable for their choices and actions, yet God can still work to carry out his plans.

-How does that work? I don’t know. I’ve done a fair amount of reading and research on this topic, and I want to be very careful to not go further than the Bible goes in discussing the things of the Lord.

-Somehow and some way God is in complete control such that nothing can stand in the way of His ultimate plans. And at the same time, humans are responsible moral creatures who can willingly choose actions and activities that have real consequences. We’re not robots forced to choose things we wouldn’t willingly pursue. And I would argue that we’re at another mystery that we get to spend eternity discussing without the same sinful constraints we have here! I love the word paradox when we talk about some of these things. According to google, a paradox is: “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.” When we reach a paradox we’re reminded that God’s ways aren’t our ways and His thoughts aren’t our thoughts, so our response should be to fall on our faces in worship of Him.

-Jesus being fully God and fully man. God being 3 persons and 1 God. God being completely sovereign and humans being willingly able to choose sin or obedience to God. Paradox, a reminder for us to worship Him.

-Finally the woman is solidified: the great city (Rome, Babylon, Washington DC, New York City, London, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai) All of the cities on this side of eternity will be marked by the allure of this sinful woman. Opposed to God, hating His people, doing everything they can to take more and more power.

-Think of what cities are: mass densities of people. One of the first things we learn about people in the Bible is people are sinners. So if you take a bunch of sinners and throw them together in 1 location, what do you think the consequence of that is going to be? Lots and lots of sin. You see that reality all over in the Bible!

-But the craziest thing about that reality is in the new heavens and earth God’s people live together in a city, New Jerusalem, a city where this woman will have no power or influence, where the effects of sin are non-existent. Can you imagine that? I struggle to even process something like that! I’ve been to some pretty cool cities and all of them have sinful pulls in them.

-The unfortunate thing is it’s not just cities that are marked by sin, even if you move to the middle of Antarctica and live alone, this prostitute will still find you because you’re still with you, and I hate to tell you but you’re a sinner. And this is where we once again get to the good news of Revelation: you don’t need to stay there!

-Once again, the message we’re seeing in Revelation is the reminder that there are 2 ways to live, in the city of man (Babylon) or the city of God. Both of the stories of these cities originate in Genesis and continue fighting against each other throughout history. The dragon (the old serpent) leads 1 city, and God leads the other city.

-And right now these 2 cities look like they’re in competition with each other, and many times it looks like the city of man is winning, doesn’t it? We hear of pastors falling out of ministry (again), we hear story after story of people deconstructing their faith, of Christian influence waning.

-Yet at the same time, I keep hearing more stories of revival and renewal breaking out across the world. Football players at THE Ohio State meeting for testimonies and prayer, 10,000 students at Univ. of Arkansas met for a night of prayer and baptisms, University of South Carolina, TX A&M Corpus Christi. Friends even when it feels like the world is getting worse, God is still on the move and at work! The city of God continues breaking in against the city of man, and it requires us being faithful to continue bringing the light into the darkness, to remember that we are first and foremost citizens of heaven and to live differently because of that.

-What does that look like?

1- Walk by faith and not by sight. Remember that this woman looks attractive and appealing. Even John was tempted by her!

2- Be ok living differently than your friends and neighbors. We have different goals, we’re living as citizens of a different kingdom which means we need to look, act, and think differently than many of the people we’re rubbing shoulders with on a regular basis. Work hard, but don’t let your work define you. Steward your possessions, but don’t let them control you. Care for your kids but remember they’re first and foremost God’s and not yours.

3- Practice the regular gifts of grace God has given (Bible, prayer, church) Bible is God’s very Word, He still speaks to us in and through His Word. Prayer is us responding to Him, speaking back. Church is the new nation that we belong to, our citizenship is in Heaven and church is a glimpse of that reality where we’re brought into and invested in people that we wouldn’t naturally get along with (different ages)

Pastor Mike's Musings

All posts for the month October, 2024

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